The present invention relates to children""s toys, and more particularly to block toy sets or similar construction systems that include block components or similar parts that can be assembled together to form larger toys.
Block toys remain a popular class of toys for children ranging in ages from preschool age up even into the high school years. Such toys include multiple block components that can be connected to and disconnected from one another (or at least positioned in relation to one another) to assemble and disassemble larger toy entities. Among the most versatile of the block toys, in terms of the complexity of the toy entities that can be constructed using the blocks, are the LEGO(copyright) toys and similar toys in which the block components have protrusions and indentations that allow multiple blocks to be combined with, and affixed to, one another.
In recent years, the variety of block components available from block toy manufacturers has increased significantly. In particular, some toy manufacturers now provide block systems that include, in addition to standard block components, specialized components such as gear mechanisms or electronic components such as motors, batteries, electric lights, and even programmable computerized control devices. By way of these more complicated block systems, children can now construct toy entities that more closely resemble real-world systems and perform mechanized or automatic operations.
Despite efforts on the part of block toy manufacturers to design these specialized components in such a way as to make the specialized components compatible with standard block components, compatibility between these different components remains a problem. Children who utilize the specialized components in conjunction with the standard block components must be cognizant of the proper manner in which to assemble the components and cautious not to lose any of the specialized components. Further, because the components can only be assembled in a certain manner, children can in some circumstances be precluded from fashioning toys according to their own designs. Indeed, often the aesthetic appearance of the specialized components is substantially different from that of the standard blocks, such that the specialized components detract from the overall appearance of the toy assemblies built using the block systems.
These problems are particularly evident with respect to the implementation of electrical components in block toy systems. To provide power to and from electrical devices such as motors, lights, and batteries, and to communicate electrical control signals from computerized controllers to other electrical devices, electrical pathways must be provided. While wire cables can be employed to provided the desired connections, the use of wires in block toy systems is both functionally and aesthetically incompatible with the general design of the block components. The use of wires is further complicated when multiple signals or voltages (e.g., a voltage differential) are to be transmitted.
FIGS. 1 and 2 (Prior Art) show one existing component 5 for providing electrical connections in a block toy system, which was developed by The LEGO Group, and was also shown in the Robotics Invention System(trademark) Constructopaedia(trademark) building guide published in 1998. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the component 5 includes first and second blocks 10 and 20, respectively, that are coupled to one another by a cable 15. Each block 10,20 is a two-by-two (square) protrusion/indentation LEGO(copyright) block. That is, each block 10,20 has a respective first row 25 of two cylindrical protrusions 30 protruding from a respective top side 35 of the respective block, a respective second row 40 of two cylindrical protrusions 30 protruding from the respective top side, a respective first row 45 of two indentations 50 extending inward through a bottom side 55 of the respective block, and a second row 60 of the two indentations 50 extending inward through the bottom side. As is commonly the case in such block toy components, in the embodiment shown the two indentations 50 of each of the first and second rows 45,60 are not separated from one another but instead together form a single rectangular channel.
Further as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, within each of the blocks 10,20 are first and second electrical conductors 65 and 70. As shown, each of the electrical conductors 65,70 includes a respective flat panel section 75 that is coupled to two protrusion sections 80. The flat panel sections 75 of the first electrical conductors 65 are positioned along first internal walls 85 of each of the first and second blocks 10,20. The flat panel sections 75 of the second electrical conductors 70 are positioned along second internal walls 90 of each of the first and second blocks 10,20. Thus, the flat panel sections 75 of the first and second electrical conductors 65,70 respectively form parts of the indentations 50 of each of the first and second rows of indentations 45,60. The first and second electrical conductors 65,70 respectively extend the entire length of the corresponding first and second internal walls 85,90 of the blocks 10,20 and consequently the pair of indentations 50 of each respective row 45,60 are short circuited with one another. When other block components are attached to the first and second blocks 10,20 by the insertion of protrusions of the other block components into the indentations 50, portions of the protrusions of the other block components are tangent to and in contact with the internal walls 85,90.
The two protrusion sections 80 of the first electrical conductor 65 of each block 10,20 respectively extend into the two protrusions 30 of the second row 40 of protrusions on that block, while the two protrusion sections 80 of the second electrical conductor 70 of each block respectively extend into the two protrusions 30 of the first row 25 of protrusions on that block. As shown, segments 95 of the outer cylindrical surfaces of each of the protrusions 30 that are outward facing towards the planes formed by the first and second internal walls 85,90 are missing. Consequently, portions of the protrusion sections 80 of the first and second electrical conductors 65 and 70 are exposed at each of the protrusions 30.
The cable 15 internally includes first and second wires 100,105. The first wire 100 is coupled between the first electrical conductors 65 of the first and second blocks 10,20 while the second wire 105 is coupled between the second electrical conductors 70 of the first and second blocks. Consequently, the component 5 is configured to allow a voltage differential to be applied at one of the blocks (e.g., at the first block 10) across the first and second conductors 65,70 of that block, such that the voltage differential is then provided at the other of the blocks (e.g., at the second block 20) across its first and second conductors.
The component 5 of FIGS. 1 and 2 provides certain desirable features. In particular, electrical signals/voltages can be applied and delivered at the indentations/protrusions of a block, such that electrical connections can be established between two blocks simply by assembling the blocks in the standard manner. Additionally, the design successfully enables the transmission of a voltage differential over a distance.
Nevertheless, the design of the component 5 limits its usefulness. To begin, the component 5 still employs the cable 15, which is aesthetically inharmonious with the blocks 10,20, and which may become dislodged from the blocks 10,20 over time. In particular, the interfaces between the cable 15 and the two blocks 10,20 can constitute a structural weak points of the component.
Further, the manner in which the first and second electrical conductors 65,70 are constructed and positioned in relation to the blocks 10,20 limits the usefulness of the component 5. As shown, the flat panel sections 75 of the first and second electrical conductors 65 and 70 are positioned only along the first and second internal walls 85 and 90, and the first and second electrical conductors only protrude from the protrusions 30 at the outward-facing segments 95 of the protrusions. Consequently, if a block like that of blocks 10,20 (e.g., from another one of the components 5) is to be successfully coupled electrically to the bottom side 55 of one of the blocks 10,20, that block must be oriented so that its respective first and second rows of protrusions are aligned with the first and second rows 45,60 of indentations of the one of the blocks 10,20 to which it is attached. Likewise, if a block like the blocks 10,20 is to be successfully coupled electrically to the top side 35 of one of the blocks 10,20, that block must be oriented so that its respective first and second rows of indentations are aligned with the first and second rows 25,40 of protrusions of the one of the blocks 10,20 to which it is attached. Otherwise, the flat panel sections 75 of the electrical conductors 65,70 of one block will not be in contact with the portions of the electrical conductors of the other block that are exposed within the segments 95 of that block, and no electrical connections will be established. Thus, two of the blocks cannot be assembled in a manner in which the blocks only are in contact along one of the rows 25,40 of protrusions of one of the blocks and one of the rows 45,60 of indentations of the other of the blocks (e.g., in a staggered manner).
Additionally, because adjacent protrusions 30 of each of the rows 25,40 of each of the blocks 10,20 are short-circuited with one another, and similarly because adjacent indentations 50 of each of the rows 45,60 of each of the blocks 10,20 are short-circuited with one another, any voltage differential between the first and second electrical conductors 65,70 can become short-circuited when two or more blocks that are the same as the blocks 10,20 are stacked above one another in an improper orientation. In particular, if two blocks are stacked in a manner where the rows 25,40 of one the blocks are perpendicular to the rows 45,60 of the other of the blocks, then a voltage differential existing on at least one of the blocks will be short-circuited. Thus, the design of the component 5 does not facilitate the communication of a voltage differential by way of the stacking of blocks, since blocks must be stacked in a particular manner for such a voltage differential to be properly communicated from the bottom of the stack to the top of the stack.
Therefore, given the limitations of conventional block toy components such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it would be advantageous if an improved electrical block toy component could be developed. In particular, it would be advantageous if such a component allowed for the communication of a voltage differential over a distance. Additionally, it would be advantageous if such a component allowed for the communication of a voltage differential over a distance without the use of externally visible wires or other externally-visible or structurally weak non-block components. Further, it would be advantageous if such a component was easy to construct and manufacture, robust, and consistent in aesthetic appearance and function with standard block toy components of its corresponding block toy system.
Additionally, it would be advantageous if such a component was designed so that, whenever the component was assembled to another similar interface component in any manner consistent with the normal manner of assembling block components of that type, electrical connections were successfully created regardless of the particular orientation of assembly. For example, with respect to LEGO(copyright)-type block components, it would be advantageous if electrical connections could be created between two block components whenever one or more indentations of one of the components received one or more corresponding protrusions of the other of the components, regardless of whether pairs of indentations of one component were aligned with pairs of protrusions of the other components, or whether all or some of the indentations of one component were in contact all or some of the protrusions of the other component. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the components were designed in such a manner that, regardless of the orientation of components that were affixed to one another, a voltage differential applied to one component in a stack of components would always be properly transmitted to another one of the components in the stack, without any short-circuiting of the voltage differential occurring due to the relative orientation of the components.
The present inventors have realized that an electrically conductive block component can be constructed by inserting a plurality of pins into corresponding sockets within a rectangular block portion. Heads of the pins at first ends of the pins extend out of a top face of the rectangular block portion to form protrusions, while indentations exist within the opposite ends of the pins along a bottom face of the rectangular block portion, where the indentations are capable of receiving and being connected to corresponding protrusions from other block components. Because the entire circumferences of the heads of the pins, and the entire inner surfaces of the indentations, are electrically conductive, electrical connections can be established between two of the electrically conductive block components regardless of the relative orientations of the block components, so long as one or more of the protrusions of one block component are connected to one or more of the indentations of another block component.
The present inventors have further realized that, by internally short-circuiting only those pins on a block component that are positioned diagonally with respect to one another, the block component is thus configured to have two sets of pins that are electrically isolated from one another and that can coexist with a voltage differential between the two sets of pins. Further, because adjacent pins within a given row of pins (rather than pins from different rows that are diagonally-neighboring) are always electrically isolated from one another, two of the block components of this type can be assembled in any orientation without short circuiting the voltage differential between the two sets of pins. Consequently, an inexperienced user can easily connect or stack multiple such electrically conductive block components, in any orientation, and successfully provide a voltage differential from a first location at one of the block components to a second location at one of the other block components.
In particular, the present invention relates to an electrically conductive block component. The electrically conductive block component includes a main block section having first and second faces opposed to one another and a first channel extending through the main block section from the first face to the second face. The electrically conductive block component further includes a first conductive pin positioned within the first channel and having first and second end portions proximate the first and second faces, respectively. The first and second end portions of the first conductive pin are configured so that the electrically conductive block component can be both physically assembled with and electrically coupled to another electrically conductive block component.
The present invention further relates to an electrically conductive block component. The electrically conductive block component includes a main block section having a plurality of channels extending between first and second surfaces of the main block section, and a plurality of electrically conductive pins. Each pin is inserted within a respective one of the channels, and each pin has a respective head forming a respective protrusion out of the first surface and a respective base including a respective indentation recessed into the second surface. The electrically conductive block component additionally includes at least one connection that electrically couples at least two of the electrically conductive pins.
The present invention additionally relates to a method of producing an electrically conductive block component. The method includes providing a main block section having first and second faces and a first channel extending from the first face to the second face, and inserting a first electrically conductive pin into the first channel so that the pin extends from proximate the first face to proximate the second face. Upon being inserted sufficiently far into the first channel, the first electrically conductive pin is fixed in position with respect to the main block section.